Ohio Wide Receiver Chris Henry Jr. "Wowed" By Notre Dame Offer

Notre Dame extended an offer to 2026 wide receiver Chris Henry Jr. and quickly grabbed his interest

On Friday, Notre Dame extended an offer to 2026 Cincinnati (Ohio) Withrow wide receiver Chris Henry Jr., who is already among the nation’s elite in his class. It’s crazy to think that the Irish staff is already extending offers to high school freshmen, but Henry has been pulling in some impressive offers already.

He is no stranger to impressive programs showing interest, but this recent one from Notre Dame did feel a little different. It’s one that took Henry off guard in the best way possible.

“When I received the offer, I was just thinking 'Wow' over and over in my head,” Henry explained. "I was speechless for a second and just extremely thankful and blessed to be in the position I am. The offer came directly from Coach (Marcus) Freeman, which was really cool.”

As mentioned before, plenty of notable programs are already showing heavy interest. That attention doesn’t look to be slowing down anytime soon. Expect his offer list to mirror the best in the country by the time he’s a junior.

As just a freshman, Henry Jr. is already collecting several impressive offers to his name. Some of the notable programs who have offered the 6-4, 180-pound pass catcher include the Irish, Ohio State, Miami, Penn State, Tennessee, Wisconsin, Texas A&M, Michigan State, West Virginia, Kentucky, Purdue and Boston College among others.

This much attention could be super overwhelming, but Henry has done his best to stay level headed through the attention. He is just grateful for all the opportunity in front of him.

"My recruitment has been going great so far. I have been really enjoying it,” he explained. "A bunch of schools like Ohio State, Penn State, Cincinnati, Kentucky, Michigan State, Boston College, Wisconsin, Purdue and Marshall have been standing out so far. They are showing a lot of interest.”

Henry is also beginning to plan out some school visits over the next couple of months. There is a belief that a trip to South Bend may be in the works, which would be huge for the staff.

"I am going to visit Kentucky on Saturday,” he noted. "That’s all I have planned so far but more should be popping up. I haven’t been on campus in South Bend before. I’m definitely looking forward to coming up there one day for a visit.”

Despite being such a young recruit, Henry already has a firm criteria set for what he is looking for in a school. He may be a long way off from making a decision but he already knows what is important to him.

"I am looking for a school that will help me get to the next level and one where I have great relationships with the coaches,” Henry explained. "It has to be a place where I can go to and will be able to be successful after football.”

The level of interest in Henry should really be no surprise when you consider who his father was. From a body type perspective and play style, it’s hard not to see No. 15 running routes for the Bengals.

Henry’s father of the same name was a third round selection (No. 83 overall) of the Cincinnati Bengals out of the University of West Virginia in the 2005 NFL Draft. Henry Sr. would spend his entire five year career with the Bengals, hauling in 119 receptions for 1,826 yards and 21 touchdowns. That came after an impressive two-year career with the Mountaineers, including 1,878 receiving yards and 22 touchdowns on just 93 grabs (20.2 YPC).

Henry’s life unfortunately ended tragically on December 17, 2009 from an automobile accident at the age of 26. Former NFL cornerback Adam “Pacman” Jones is the guardian of Henry Jr., who is already considered one of the most talented players in the 2026 recruiting class.

The younger Henry did a little bit of everything on the field for Withrow this past season. The Ohio native hauled in 29 receptions for 292 yards and five touchdowns. Defensively, he totaled 16 tackles, three interceptions and a pair of fumble recoveries. Henry also returned six kickoffs for 88 yards on the year. 

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